List of spiders of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are about 2 million species of arthropods found in the world, and still it is counting. So many new species are discover up to this time also. So it is very complicated and difficult to summarize the exact number of species found within a certain region.

Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. Anatomically, spiders differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two tagmata, the cephalothorax and abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel. Unlike insects, spiders do not have antennae. In all except the most primitive group, the Mesothelae, spiders have the most centralized nervous systems of all arthropods, as all their ganglia are fused into one mass in the cephalothorax. Unlike most arthropods, spiders have no extensor muscles in their limbs and instead extend them by hydraulic pressure.

As of November 2015, at least 45,700 spider species,[1] and 114 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been dissension within the scientific community as to how all these families should be classified, as evidenced by the over 20 different classifications that have been proposed since 1900.[2]

When considering the spider diversity in South Asia, which includes India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, there are not much extensive spider taxonomy has revealed. Only in India, there is a precise catalogue of spiders are documented by arachnologists. All the other South Asian countries, the scientific study is much lesser than that of India. In Sri Lankan spider fauna, most of the articles and publications on spiders were done by Eugène Simon, C.L. Koch in the past and currently by Channa Bambaradeniya, K. B Ranawana, V. A. M. P. K Samarawickrama and Ranil P. Nanayakkara.[3] However, most of them were interested on tiger spiders of Sri Lanka - genus Poecilotheria,[4][5] not much work done in other spider categories.[6]

In 2012 IUCN National Red List of Sri Lanka, much more comprehensive study on spiders and other local fauna had taken place. Afterwards, A book named Tiger Spiders - Poecilotheria of Sri Lanka by Ranil P. Nanayakkara was published on 2013.[7] Numerous publications and checklists have been made up since then and curiosity about the arachnid fauna arose in the country.[8][9][10]

The following list provide the spiders currently identified in Sri Lanka. This works has influenced by the works of above named arachnologists accompanied with the checklist by Manju Siliwal and Sanjay Molur's detailed checklist of spiders of South Asia including 2006 revision of Indian spider checklist. This checklist provided all the described spider species of South Asia and part of South-East Asia as well.[11]

According to this checklist, Sri Lanka has 360 species of spiders belongs to 45 families and 213 genera. Out of these 360, 250 are endemic spiders to Sri Lanka with 22 endemic genera.

Endemic species are denoted as E.

Order: Araneae

Family: Agelenidae

Family: Araneidae

Family: Barychelidae

Family: Clubionidae

Family: Corinnidae

Family: Ctenidae

Family: Dictynidae

Family: Dipluridae

Family: Eresidae

Family: Eutichuridae

Family: Hahniidae

Family: Hersiliidae

Family: Idiopidae

Family: Linyphiidae

Family: Liocranidae

Family: Lycosidae

Family: Mimetidae

Family: Mysmenidae

Family: Nephilidae

Family: Nesticidae

Family: Ochyroceratidae

Family: Oonopidae

Family: Oxyopidae

Family: Palpimanidae

Family: Philodromidae

Family: Pholcidae

Family: Phrurolithidae

Family: Pisauridae

Family: Psechridae

Family: Salticidae

Family: Scytodidae

Family: Segestriidae

Family: Sparassidae

Family: Stenochilidae

Family: Tetrablemmidae

Family: Tetragnathidae

Family: Theraphosidae

Family: Theridiidae

Family: Theridiosomatidae

Family: Thomisidae

Family: Titanoecidae

Family: Trachelidae

Family: Udubidae

Family: Uloboridae

Family: Zodariidae

Family: Zoropsidae

References

  1. ↑ http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/
  2. ↑ Foelix, Rainer F. (1996). Biology of Spiders. 198 Madison Ave. NY, New York, 10016: Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0-19-509593-6.
  3. ↑ Bambaradeniya, Channa. "Fauna of Sri Lanka" (PDF). World Conservation Union in Sri Lanka. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Poecilotheria species". Tarantupedia. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "New giant tarantula discovered in Sri Lanka". wired.com. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "South Indian Spiders". southindianspiders.org. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Face size Tarantula Sri-Lanka Venomous-Poecilotheria-Rajaei discovered". Daily mail. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Nanayakkara, Ranil P. (2014). Tiger Spiders Poecilotheria of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Biodiversity Secretariat, Ministry of Environmental & Renewable Energy. p. 167. ISBN 978-955-0033-58-4.
  9. ↑ Samarawickrama, V. A. M. P. K ; Jayananda, M. D. B. G ; Ranawana, K. B ; Smith, Andrew. "Study of the distribtution of the genus Poecilotheria in Sri Lanka" (PDF). Ceylon Journal of Science. p. 12. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Giant new kind of tarantula discovered in Sri Lanka". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Molur, Sanjay ; Siliwal, Manju. "Checklist of Spiders of South Asia". p. 47. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
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